I am very excited about the return of sailing for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) after a long absence on White Bear Lake. This year is my 25th year of service as the national chairman of the Leukemia Cup Regatta campaign. I have visited White Bear Lake a number of times and your kindness and hospitality are highlights of my history with LLS. White Bear Yacht Club’s Inter-Lake Regatta will take place August 5-6th. After sailing, the Saturday party and auction will benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Special thanks to Jason & Angie Brown (WBYC), and Lisa Mathewson (BBYRA) for allowing us to integrate fundraising for LLS into the traditional Inter-Lake Regatta.

Since you are a past White Bear Lake Leukemia Cup Regatta participant, we wanted to give you the opportunity to get a jump-start on a new component added to the Inter-Lake: to raise funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) efforts to find cures and better treatments for cancer and help those patients and their families who are on the front lines of the cancer battle.

I am very grateful to LLS and all of you who were there for me when I was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2003. I am living proof of the great strides in research and treatment that events like the Leukemia Cup have made possible. But we cannot rest until everyone has access to treatments and no child or adult has to go through cancer. If you need more proof of how your funds can save lives, watch this video from Riley, who I had the chance to meet in New Orleans a few months ago.

Here’s how you can help: send out an email to your contacts and ask them to support your club’s participation in winning the Leukemia Cup Challenge trophy. The trophy will be awarded to the club that raises the most money for LLS. We’ve attached a draft message for you to share with your contacts. Feel free to edit the message to reflect how cancer has affected the life of a loved one in your family. We can also set up an individual online fundraising page under your club’s team if desired.

For more information, please contact regatta@lls.org or Lisa Mathewson at j22echo@aol.com. With your help, we can have an amazing impact on our ability to accelerate cancer cures and improve the quality of life for patients and their families.